Honda CTX200 "Bushlander"

If you live in North America, Europe, Asia or 95% of
Africa, youíve never seen my motorcycle.

The Honda CTX200 "Bushlander" falls into the dual-sport
category, but it's a sub-species referred to as "agricultural
motorcycles" or simply "farm bikes."

Such machines are
like utility ATVs, but with half the wheels.

Manufacturers typically use tried-and-true technology
for these bikes; technology that has become outdated for
performance applications but is then repackaged with features that make the machine more
useful for use on a farm or a ranch.

Here in South Africa, Honda produces the
CTX200 Bushlander,
Yamaha makes the AG200, and Suzuki has a DR200SE adapted
for rugged use as well.

Elsewhere in the world, similar
machines include the Honda XL200, the Kawasaki Super
Sherpa, and the Suzuki Djebel.

As far as I can tell, the CTX200 Bushlander is
only sold in South Africa, Chile, Australia, and New
Zealand -- perhaps the only bike produced and ridden
entirely in the Southern Hemisphere!

And in each place, the marketing seems to be
"Specially designed and built for the demanding terrain
of (fill in your country here)." But donít hold that
against them -- the terrain of a farm Down Under is pretty
similar to that of a South African farm or in Chile, right?

I am no Honda junkie -- the last one I rode is older than
me, a í76 CB360 -- so Iíll leave others to guess the exact
pedigree of the Bushlander's engine. To my eyes,
however, it looks identical to the XL200 currently sold
in South America, but this bike has more creature comforts.

For example, on the front and back of the CTX200, you get standard
"sheep racks." These can (and do) carry farmerís animals
(or dates, as the jokes go), tools, supplies, gear, salt
licks, and sacks. The back rack is 15" x 9" and is rated
for 45 lbs. The front rack above the headlight is 10" by
8", holding up to 6.6 lbs.

Taking these full load allowances at face value, you
could have a rider who weighs up to 220 lbs. or so,
including boots, jacket, and other riding gear, so
forget about taking a passenger. The sticker on the gas
tank even strictly announces, "No passengers." Honda
means it, too -- no passenger foot pegs!

Of course, the nearly identical XL200 has passenger
pegs, as do Hondaís 125 cc four-strokes they sell here
in South Africa. And you can bet the farmers buying and
using these machines around the Southern Hemisphere
arenít reading their owner's manual too carefully. Theyíre
riding two up, with a couple sheep, some lumber, and
some sheetrock, you can be sure!

I did consider adding some pegs to my CTX200 so I could take my
wife or the occasional brave hitchhiker somewhere, but
the combination of two little kids and a lack of
horsepower have meant I never got around to it. Honda
says it has 14 ponies, if memory serves me, but in any
case it feels like it only has 200 ccís.

Wide open top speed on mine, stock and broken in,
with no wind on a flat straight road and with me (180 lbs.)
lying flat on the tank is just over 100 km/h (60 mph)
indicated. Then I added a tooth to the front
sprocket (now 14)
and dropped two teeth in the back (now 45). This got me
up to about 110 km/h (66 mph) under the same conditions,
although it does take a long time to get there! A small
mountain will sap my speed down to 85 km/h (53 mph).

Acceleration is not spectacular at any gear or speed,
which leaves me a little hungry sometimes. Part of the
joy of motorcycling for me is ripping past some
four-wheeled luxury cage on a cheap little dangercycle. On the Bushlander, this happens less than it used to (my
last bike was a Kawasaki Concours), but it still does
happen, particularly on the many gravel roads here, and
in the twisties.

The CTX200 sits slightly lower than Iíd choose for my
34" inseam if I had my druthers, but itís very nice and manageable for my
wife, who is 5í 8". With use, the monoshock has
compressed a bit, and the seat foam has compacted,
dropping it an inch or two when you sit on it now,
compared to when new. This adds up to comfort for
putting around in the pasture.

You're upright and alert in the saddle, so you can
herd your cattle, horses, wallabies and whatnot. Iím six feet tall, but
donít feel hemmed in or cramped on the CTX200, which is
rare for me on such a small capacity machine. The
dual-sport stance accounts for this. The little front
rack seems to cut some wind from buffeting my head, but
I do still lie down on the tank quite a bit. Keeps me
limberÖ

The instruments I tuck behind get the job done, and
calculations indicate that the Bushlander uses a liter of petrol every 25 km, or around
60 mpg.

The brakes are like most of the bike -- functional,
strong, and sufficient, but not spectacular. This is a
basic and simple machine made to take a beating, endure
neglect, and keep running without attention. It is a dirtbike for all of life
-- beating across the pasture,
crossing countries, and buying groceries (with those big
racks). Itís probably the closest Iíll ever get to
riding my first bike again, a 1983 Honda XR80 -- red and
rough.

This bike is eminently crashable. All the indicators
are protected by the racks, and a wrap-around bar
protects hand levers in addition to providing some
strength to the bars.

In fact, I have crashed it. I was crossing Lesotho,
the little mountainous country completely surrounded by
South Africa. Twice on my long trip across the country
on its gravel "highways", I dumped it. The bike took it
without complaint. I just had to realign the bars,
replace an engine mount bolt that sheared off, and get a
dent torched and banged out of the front rim! Some
African bike shops are a bit different than back home in
the U.S...

And the scars just make the thing just look better. Plus,
where else can you find a motorcycle that comes standard with
two side stands?

Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.
Not all comments will be published (details).
Comments may be edited for clarity prior to publication.

From "E.D." (October 2011):
"Over here in the UK I have a XL200R that is of
Italian origin and looks very much like your CTX but
does not have the kick start back up witch is its
weakness as the sprag starter clutch is slipping and
Mr. Honda does not recognize the VIN number so can
not find part numbers for the parts that I need.

It's a shame as the little bike is spot on for what
I got it for which is to go on the back of a Camper
van on a rack for trips to the Isle of Man for the
TT. I am a marshal leave the wife were ever she
wants to be and I go of on the little bike to do my
marshaling popping down a green lane or two on the
way good fun.

The XL is ideal being nice and light for on the back
of the van and just enough power to plod along the
green lanes ,if only I could get parts for it it
would be spot on."

From "Trailrider": "The CTX200
is a great little bike. It's light and capable
and I use it exclusively for trail riding or "green
laneing". The rear carrier is very useful and
carries 20kg instead of the usual 10kg of the bigger
bikes like the Transalp.

If you're not in a hurry the bike
will take you anywhere. I rode mostly
technical terrain (12,000km in a year) and never had
a single problem.

From "S" (Australia): "Just read
your review on the CTX200. Being in Australia,
I'm familiar with the bike as I owned one, and
currently own a Yamaha AG200 as my farm bike.
Kawasaki has a more farm oriented version of the
Super Sherpa called the Stockman.

I've used both bikes for everything
you could imagine, from single track, to hill
climbs, to chasing animals through billy goat
country, and anything else you try as a teenager
off-road on a motorcycle.

The Yamaha has the lower gearing for
serious mud and load carrying, while the Honda was
the faster of the two. Our first AG100 two
stroke from the 70's lasted 23years without a motor
pull apart.